We'll keep you up to date with creative, inspiring and fun things to watch
During the current situation, our priority is to continue providing essential council services, while protecting the health and wellbeing of our residents.
Local things to see
INTRA Arts is currently closed to the public but you can view their window gallery any time.
The gallery is open.
Rochester History walking Tours have some great videos
Take part in the Rochester Kino Classic and Cult cinema to watch and discuss classic and cult films
Local things to do
- Nucleus Arts creative activities at home - including mini zines, nature photography, rock painting, quaran-zines and typography
- Luna Zsigo: Explore and Draw - themed online [drawing and creative activities with Luna Zsigo
- Theatre 31 - an imaginative theatre programme for children and young people who live in Medway and on the Isle of Sheppey, get involved in online activities. Delivered by Icon Theatre
- Cas Holmes social distancing drawing activities
- Animate Arts is a national award-winning arts company making high-quality participatory art projects, working creatively with people of all ages, abilities try these Cardboard Capers
- Medway Libraries online reading challenges, free digital books and book readings
- Hulkes Lane Darkroom and Studio in Rochester
- Medway Council Youth Services online activities
- Wordsmithery in Medway's free online poetry and writing prompts and sharing
- Creatabot free online creative classes for adults and children
- Read along - The Guildhall Museum and Medway Libraries have just launched their online shared anniversary reading of The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Online Medway craft and chat making sessions Unravel & Unwind usually at INTRA Chatham
- Medway Cultural Strategy attend online theme workshops
- Medway Adult Education – Free online courses
- Virtual workshops and community information from Ideas Test
- Rochester Cathedral Tour - join us for a free online Rochester cathedral tour
- Kent Creative: Social journal - find out about how to create art journals and share your work to The Social Journal Facebook group or on Instagram using the hashtag: #kentcreativesocialjournal
- North Kent Artists and writers can join creative journaling and create and submit River Thames themed world for Estuary 2020
- Back Medway's UK City of Culture Bid 2025
- The Mess Room is a creative, inclusive space where we facilitate fun, accessible and innovative artistic workshops for all
- Contribute to the Medway Archive Centre community archive - the archive will include diaries, scrapbooks, ephemera, photos and other records about coronavirus. This is so that researchers can access first-hand accounts of this crisis and how it affected people that live or work in Medway
- Glassbox Theatre
- Medway print festival - for free printmaking video workshops
- Watch Medway’s finest, Dizzy O Dare's hilarious YouTube tutorials
- Zara Carpenter's video on how to make Lumen prints at home Follow Zara Carpenter on Facebook for updates and a tour for Zara Carpenter's tour of her exhibition 'Echoes' at Rochester Art Gallery.
- Tuesday Afternoon Art Club, Kent for live tutorials
- Create a mixed media collage using recycled materials you can find at home with Cas Holmes
- Great history and Dickens 150 videos for children and families from the Rochester Guildhall Museum Education Officer Jeremy Clarke
National things to see
Museum resources include:
- National Portrait Gallery’s Young People’s Guide to Portraiture - discover gallery collections, exhibitions, projects and portraiture
- free digital archive from the world’s museums
- V&A online collections to explore
- free virtual museum tours from around the world
- free online museum colouring pages
- virtually walk around famous museums
- activities from a range of museums for children to do at home
- transform your home into a museum
- Smartify app giving you free access to lots of online museum Tours
- garden virtual tours
- Royal Academy Picasso and Paper exhibition free 40min virtual tour
- Explore the British Museum from home
- National Portrait Gallery and the portrait of our nation online exhibition
- Watch The Royal Opera House's free programme of curated online broadcasts as part of the #OurHousetoYourHouse series - including full-length productions, musical masterclasses and glimpses behind the scenes can be seen for free any time, anywhere across the globe.
- Royal Albert Hall livestream of free concerts by a range of performers
Watch quality theatre performances online from home.
- The Globe: Shakespeare plays
- National Theatre performances
- Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals
- The Wind in the Willows - the West End musical
More free musicals and plays being streamed by major companies.
National things to do
- Stacks of creative activities for all ages to try at home
- #createtorelate run by Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft with workshops and talks for adults and craft sessions for children
- Join others recreating famous works of art from home using the hashtags #gettymuseumchallenge #betweenartandquarantine on social media.
- Firstsite artist created activity packs - featuring contributions from UK artists. Artists include Anthony Gormley, Gillian Wearing, Idris Khan, Jeremy Dellar, Mark Wallinger and more
- Family history activities to do including family trees, scrapbooks and recipe books
- Royal Opera House's new weekly create and learn activities
- Adult online craft classes - Links to various adult online craft classes from needlework, papercrafts and jewellery making to spoon carving, basket-weaving, candle making and upcycling
- #creatorsassemble - get creative during the coronavirus crisis with daily prompts and challenges, ideas to get creative to help your community and new skills tutorials
- The National Gallery's slow looking at art lessons
- Transform your home into a museum
- How to make your own geranium (free to download) - to pay tribute to writer Charles Dickens, who lived and worked in Medway in the 1800s, we want to decorate Medway with his favourite flower - the red geranium. Unlike a typical geranium, this flower will be made from paper - a fitting tribute to his paper writing career
- National Geographic Children’s activities
- Authors reading their books to children
- Free online museum colouring pages
- How to make your own geranium (free to download) - to pay tribute to writer Charles Dickens, who lived and worked in Medway in the 1800s, we want to decorate Medway with his favourite flower - the red geranium. Unlike a typical geranium, this flower will be made from paper - a fitting tribute to his paper writing career
- Activities from a range of museums for children to do at home
- Join the fun learning activity for children from New Adventures
- Roald Dahl HQ reading and quizzes
- Roundhouse digital events and workshops for young people
- Watch Matthew Bournes' New Adventures Ballet/contemporary dance at home.
- Take Strictly's Oti Mabuse's online dance classes for free
- Get involved with exercises and resources for some of your favourite New Adventures shows. Perfect for teachers and students, our activities are adapted for those with a general level of dance experience - but anyone can try these at home
Other resources and information for creatives
Gillingham POW! temporary public art project creative opportunity
We're looking for artists to create a gallery of new outdoor temporary public artworks throughout Gillingham High Street.
More about Gillingham POW!
Artists’ Support Pledge
With the support pledge, artists will post images of their work on Instagram. The works will cost no more than £200 each (excluding shipping). Anyone can buy the work.
Each time an artist reaches £1,000 of sales, they pledge to spend £200 on another artist's work.
More about the artists' support pledge. See the artists' support pledge on Instagram.
Lyrici Arts
Follow Lyrici Arts for links to creative opportunities online
Ideas Test
Ideas Test is about supporting everyone in Swale & Medway to take part in arts and creativity in ways they choose. Find information, activities, support and how to do your own stand-up comedy.
There are plenty of other online resources to enjoy including:
- hundreds of audio books free to listen to on Audible
- writers sharing cultural things to do in isolation
- Worldwide Festival sharing creativity
- BBC Culture in Quarantine season featuring a host of visual and performing arts content including documentaries, dance workshops, gaming and film
- BBC programmes and content celebrating creativity in the visual and performing arts
- free e-cards from Quentin Blake - a set of colourful rainbow e-cards, guaranteed to bring a little joy to loved ones you’re isolated from
Festive activities
Theatre 31 is celebrating winter by collecting a string of warming tales from members of our community. Funny, heartfelt, or silly, if you have a personal story that you are eager to share, let Theatre 31 know and be part of our next show.
Direct message Theatre 31 on Twitter to take part or submit your story online.